There are three kinds of sufferings. Many times I have explained. They are called ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika, ādhidaivika. Ādhyātmika sufferings means pertaining to this body and mind. Suppose I have got some pain here today. This is bodily suffering. Or my mind is not in... (break) They do not mind it. Just like animals. Animals, they are always in suffering, but they do not mind it. Recently I was in Hawaii. So in front of my house there was a man who was keeping some animals and birds for slaughtering. Not there, but he was dragging for selling the animals and birds for slaughtering. Now, I was giving example to my students. Now, these animals are standing here, and tell them, "Oh, my dear animals, why you are standing here? You go away. You are meant for being slaughtered." But he has no intelligence. He cannot go. Even in the slaughterhouse also, he cannot go. So suffering without knowledge, without remedy, means animal life, means animal life, one who cannot understand his suffering and he thinks, "Oh, I am very well off. I am very well situated." But that is animal consciousness. One should be cognizant of the suffering, threefold miseries of his life. One should know there is suffering in birth, there is suffering in death, there is suffering in old age, and there is suffering in disease. And one should be inquisitive. That is the real research work, how to avoid death, how to avoid birth. We have suffered during our birth. We have suffered as a child, as a baby. We remained within the abdomen of our mother, tightly placed in a airtight bag for ten months, and I could not move even, and there are insects biting me. I could not protest. But we have forgotten. After coming out, we had... Our sufferings are there. Mother is taking so much care undoubtedly; still, the child is crying. Why it cries? It has got some suffering, but he cannot express. There are some bugs biting or some pains within somewhere. The child is crying, crying. The mother does not know how to pacify it. So in this way our suffering has begun from the womb of our mother. And then I do not wish to go to school. I am forced to go to a school. I do not wish to study. The teachers give me tasks. If you just study, analyze your life, it is full of suffering, full of suffering. But we have no inquiry. We have no inquiry. This is not education. Therefore Brahma-sūtra says, athāto brahma jijñāsā: "Now you should inquire why you are suffering. Is there any remedy for suffering? Then, if there is remedy, then you must take it. You must take advantage of the remedy." But we are callous. We do not care for it. This is not good.
Therefore Ṛṣabhadeva says to His sons, "My dear sons, now you have got this opportunity. Out of 8,400,000's of lives, take..." Forget Ṛṣabhadeva's sons. I will speak to the American boys and girls. Now you have got very nice body, very beautiful body, very nice country. You have no poverty. So many ways, you have an advantage than other nations. So if you apply this instruction of Ṛṣabhadeva to His sons... Ṛṣabhadeva spoke to His sons does not mean only it was meant for His sons. It is meant for the whole human race. So he said that "My dear sons, this body, this nice body, beautiful body, this own flesh(?) body, is not meant for sense gratification like the cats and dogs and hogs." He says that kaṣṭān kāmān na arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye: "By hard labor, by hard work, culminating into sense gratification, simply for that satisfaction, if we spoil our life, oh, it is not very good." Take that instruction to your life also, that you are very nicely placed, but according to Ṛṣabhadeva's instruction, you should not spoil this beautiful life simply for sense gratification. Why? Ṛṣabhadeva answered, "That sense gratification process is there, viḍ-bhujām." Viḍ-bhujām means the stool-eaters. What animal is the stool-eater? The hog. This kind of sense gratification, working day and night hard, is available even in hog's life. Therefore... You have got so nice, beautiful body. You should not imitate the hogs. You see? I was surprised to hear from one of my principal disciples, Brahmānanda—I was walking in Central Park—that the groups of the hippies, they have begun to worship hogs. You can explain that, why they are doing. This is not very hopeful. You see? After having this nice body, nice country, nice civilization, nice education, the result is hog worshiping. Will you explain today. Still silent?
Brahmānanda: Yes. We have experience not only in New York City but many places around the country—I'm sure you're familiar—of worshiping hogs. Many places where we go chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, the Lord's name, we've experience of groups of young people chanting "hog, hog, hog." This is going on in New York City. And also they actually have parades where they parade with hogs and pigs. And they bow down before the pigs, and they worship the pigs. And they want the hogs to become... They want to run the hog for president, and they want the hogs to lead them. It's even gone to such lengths that at one be-in—this was in Seattle—there was a massive demonstration with hogs. There, boys and girls undressed themselves and got in the mud and they just played with the hogs. Dirty, just living like the hogs, which they worship.
Young man: You don't think there's some irony in that?
Prabhupāda: So anyway, this hog worship was anticipated long, long ago. Otherwise how they could be described in the Bhāgavatam, which was compiled at least five thousand years ago? Anyway, the idea is that beautiful life, beautiful education, beautiful situation, should be utilized for beautiful end, not degrade to the platform of hog worship. That is not very palatable thing at least. So Ṛṣabhadeva says, "My dear boys, the sense gratification process after hard work day and night is available in the hog's life. That is not a very important thing. This human form of life is meant for a different purpose." And that purpose he explains, that tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattva śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam: (SB 5.5.1) "This human form of life is meant for austerity and penance." You will find in the history of Vedic literature, there were many, many exalted emperors and kings. They also gave to the, led to the practice of austerity and penance. Dhruva Mahārāja, Prahlāda Mahārāja, Ambarīṣa Mahārāja, Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja—they were all kings. They were called rājarṣi. Rājarṣi means although they were king, most opulent, still, they were great sages. So the same thing is advised, that those persons who have got this opportunity of the spiritual, human form of life, with facility for economic welfare, with facility for giving very nicely everything—the opportunity should be used for better life. Ye tapo divyam (SB 5.5.1). Tapasya, austerity. A little penance. Just like our students. They are practicing... (break) ...is also explained, tapo divyaṁ yena śuddhyet sattvam. Sattvam means pure existence. I am existing in this body, this material body, but if you take to this austerity process, it is not very troublesome, at all troublesome. It is pleasant. You can ask our students who are practicing it. They are very much pleased to practice this. So it is not troublesome. It is pleasing. So tapo divyaṁ yena śuddhyet sattvam (SB 5.5.1). Your existence will be purified. As soon as your existence is purified... The difference between animal life and human life is that human life, existence, is more purified. He has got better consciousness than the animals. Similarly, if you more purify your existence, you (are) gradually elevated to the spiritual existence, which is completely pure life.
So Ṛṣabhadeva advises, "My dear boys, you don't spoil your life simply for sense gratification, but voluntarily accept some austerity and penances so that your existence will be purified. And when you get your purified existence... You are seeking after happiness. Whatever happiness you are inclined in this material world, that is only limited. But if you purify your existence and some way or other be promoted to your spiritual existence, then..." Brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam. Brahman. Brahman means the greatest. As I told you from the Vedānta-sūtra, athāto brahma jijñāsā, so what is the Brahman life, so there is Brahman pleasure also. In the Brahman pleasure there is also dancing, there are young girls, young boys—everything. These are only reflections. Whatever we are finding in this material world, the last evening we explained, that it is that perverted reflection of the spiritual world. So if you want unlimited happiness, unlimited knowledge, and eternal life, you should not spoil your, this very nice opportunity simply for sense gratification, but adjust it to accept this life of austerity to promote yourself to the spiritual life. Then you will get unlimited happiness, unlimited life, unlimited pleasure. That is the sum and substance of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.